If you are eating poorly, chances are you are feeling unhealthy and your work performance and productivity is suffering. Let’s focus on the link between nutrition and work productivity to make improvements in your busy work days.
“Food is mood” and “You are what you eat”, are just a few of many cliches that could describe how we feel after we eat. Everything we ingest will have an affect on how our body feels, how it heals, how it moves, how it rests and even how it works. Pay close attention to how your body feels and reacts to certain foods. The ones that cause sluggish behaviour, brian fog and lethargic feelings are the ones that will zap your energy and create poor job related performance.
Eating right for job performance is about choosing the right food. A diet rich in vegetables, especially dark leafy greens (ALL YOU WANT!), fruits, clean proteins, good health fats and carbohydrates that do not come from the white family. No to white pasta, pizza, breads, crackers etc. Carbohydrates are best sourced from foods like apples, bananas, oats, yams, beets etc.
Healthy lifestyle plays an important role in one’s work life. Your workday starts way before you enter your work place. How you begin your day will dictate how you feel and perform at work. In order to have a productive work day follow the suggestions below to feel a wealth of health and job satisfaction.
Develop Healthy Habits
Upon rising, drink 1-1½ cups of warm water and freshly squeezed lemon juice, on an empty stomach. The amount of lemonis completely up to you. This will help jump start your liver and begin to flush out the toxins from your body.
Include some form of physical activity, even if it is only for 20 minutes. A brisk walk, cycling, weight training, yoga etc. This will begin to get the body moving and warmed up for the day.
During your movement try to drink 1-2 litres of water also to help get rid of toxins and any excess sodium that was ingested the day/night before.
Your first solid fluids are crucial. They will be the catalyst to any highs or lows you will have throughout the day. You want to try to have a stable blood sugar level all day so you don’t get sluggish, brain fog, or tired afternoon periods.
Start Your Day With A Nutritious Breakfast
Your morning breakfast should include a good quality protein, fat and carbohydrate. Oats with a teaspoon of flax and a cup of berries, Ezekiel bread with avocado or a nut butter spread on it, as opposed to butter. If you wish, add an egg or tofu. Avoid any packaged food that has more than 5 grams of sugar per serving.
This combo of nutrients will ensure that your blood sugar remains stable until your next snack and or lunch. You will be more focused, more attentive, more productive and have more clarity at work because brain fog will be non existent.
If you begin your day with a high sugary meal such as double double coffee with donut or pancakes and syrup, you will get a quick spike in energy and then plummet within an hour or 2. Your body will naturally want to return to that high and your cravings for fatty sugary foods will begin.
Staying Mindful Throughout The Day
Keep drinking water throughout the day. Stop drinking an hour before you eat and start to drink an hour after you finish. This will ensure that your stomach’s hydrochloric acid does not get watered down and you digest all your food as well as possible. Try to create lunches and dinners that also have good nutrient dense foods that contain high quality protein, fat and carbohydrates. Also, have a snack between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner again to stabilize blood sugar levels.
Enjoy your journey of health and notice how great your work days become.
Easy, Nutritious, Delicious Recipes
For more healthy holistic recipes and information see Celiac Sweeties – Holistic Information and Recipes for Individuals with Celiac Disease and other Autoimmune Deficiencies.